Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



ELi WHITNEY.

Improvement in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms.

N0,`24,994, Patented wwwa-,1872.

rame@ UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE.

'LI WHITNEY, on NEw HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN'REEcH-LCADING FIRE-ARMS. 5

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,994, dated March 26, 1872.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ELI WHITNEY, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in BreechLoading Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, and which said drawing constitutes part of this specification, and represents 1n- Figure 1, a side view; Fig. 2, a top view; Fig. 3. a longitudinal central section, the parts in position for ring; Fig. 4, the parts in the position of having thrown out the shell; and in Fig. 5, a transverse section on line .r w.

This invention relates to an improvement inthatclass ofbreech-loading fire-armsinwhich the `breechpiece is turned down to the rear to open the breech for insertion of the charge, and the said breech-piece locked against the rear of the barrel by a cam falling in behind the breeclrpiece, and especially to the arm patented to me March 21, 1871.

In my arm patented as above the cam was tripped by the end of the breechpiece coming in contact with the latch which held the cam in its descent, the latch dragging upon the surface of the breech-piece after it was tripped, rendering it liable to catch, and to other objections now clearly apparent. In that arm an independent fm gerpiece was employed to operate the cam, necessitating an additional operation in the manipulation of the arm.

To overcome these difficulties is the object of the present invention; andit consists in constructing the breech-piece with a projection or stud upon its surface in such relative position to the latch which secures the cam that it will trip the latch and the latch remain always clear from the surface of the breechpiece; and by this construction of the cam, hammer, and breech-piece the cocking of the hammer will draw back the cam without the intervention of other manipulation, but the cam will be released by the descent of t-he breeclrpiece independent of the hammer.

A is the frame, constructed with tangs A1 A2 for securing the frame to the stock. B is the barrel, secured to the frame in the usual manner, with the breech open. G is the breech-piece, pivoted in the frame at G1, and provided with a linger-piece, G2, for operat` ing, substantially in the manner as in my patent before referred to. D is the cam shown in section in solid black, Figs. 3, 4, and 5; in Figs. 3 and 4 as raised from the locking position, but thrown forward to lock the breechpiece, as in Fig. 3. This cam is divided or forked to set each side of the hammer E, as denoted in Figs. 2 and 5, and in such relativo position to the breech-piece C that when thrown forward, as in Fig. 3, the cam will fall beneath the breech-piece and hold it up against and so as to close the rear of the barrel, as denoted in broken lines, Fig. 3. On the hammer, above its pivot,'is arranged a latch, a', which, when the cam is thrown forward to lock the breechpiece, and the hammer also thrown down as for the discharge of the arm, would engage upon the said cam, and project slightly beyond its surface, so that when the hammer is drawn back it will take the cam with it, as denoted in Fig. 3. The edge or face of the cam nearest the breech-piece is drawn further back than the surface of the breech-piece, so that as the breech-piece is drawn down, as in broken lines, Fig. 3, it will pass clear of the end of the latch without coming in Contact therewith. In order to trip the latch to release the cam, a stud or projection, d, is arranged upon the surface of the breech-piece in such relative position that it will not reach the latch until the breech-piece has been thrown back nearly to its full extent, `and the said projection will trip the latch but not pass below it. Thus the latch is left free or prevented from coming in Contact with the firing-pin or whatever else may be arranged upon the surface of the breech-piece and the cam is manipulated by the hammer and breech-piece with out the linger-piece on the cam before referred to. This construction necessitates the arrest of the cam when it has been thrown sufficiently far forward to lock the breech-piece. For this purpose I form a shoulder or projection, b, on the rear of the breech-piece, upon which the cam will strike and there remain until engaged by the latch a. v

'I claim as my inventionlatch and cam D, when the said breech-piecev 1. The combination ofthe breech-piece C, is provided with projection d to trip the latch cam D, and hammer E, when the said hammer which holds the cam at or nea-r the ter1ninais provided with a latch, a, Arranged so to draw tion of the fall of the breech-piece, substantialthe said cam from beneath the said 'breechly as and for the purpose set forth.

piece, and to release the seid cam by the move- ELI WHITNEY. ment of the breeehpiece7 substantially as de- Witnesses: scribed. ELI WHITNEY, Jr.

z. 'Lne combination of the breech-piece C1, A. J. TIBBITS. 

